Let It Out
by SeaOfLight
Summary: Four years is a long time. Long enough for a child to become an adult. Long enough for a heart to break from lonliness, but not long enough for it to heal. Staring at the letter in her hands, Anzu felt the ache in her heart from that absolute truth. Host/Vexshipping.
1. Moving On

**A/N**: My first story in a long, LONG time. The idea has been floating around my head for a while now, so figured it was time to get working on it.  
>Viewer discretion is advised. This story is rated M for a reason.<p>

Also, constructive critiques are _always_ welcome! I want this to be as realistic as possible, so please let me know what you guys are thinking!

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><p><em><span>Let It Out<span>_

Chapter One

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><p>There were only a handful of occasions in Anzu Mazaki's life that she felt truly speechless. Always quick with a witty remark or carefully thought of speech, she was the one who had something to add or an opinion to be heard, much to the annoyance of her peers growing up. Her mother, the strong willed woman she was, used to remark that she was too smart for her own good when Anzu would start off a sentence with, "Well <em>I<em> think..." or, "well _actually,_ mom..."

"If I wanted your opinion, _darling_, I would have given it to you." The woman would reply before flicking her daughter's nose playfully.

Anzu could recall various occasions when she would overhear a classmate remarking on her being a "snobbish, know-it-all." The first time she heard someone say it, she was offended and quite honestly, a little hurt. Was she really being snobbish? A know-it-all? _Surely_ she wasn't coming across that way, and she had better go and correct the girl.

She was about to march right up and confront her, but stopped when she noticed the nods of agreement from others around.

"That's why she's only friends with guys," another girl piped up. "They just block her out and stare at her tits. God knows she flaunts them enough." Anzu was speechless; frozen in shock at the hurtful words and watched helplessly as they walked away laughing; her courage lost. She glanced down at herself self consciously before hugging her jacket a little closer to her chest. At thirteen, it was a little more than embarrassing.

She remembered crying on the way home.

Though still hurt, she eventually learned to take those remarks with a grain of salt, having the help of her close friends in reassuring her that she was indeed a good person and not a snob; even if she _was _a little emotion-driven... and maybe just a little bit of a know-it-all. She just learned not to care. If people didn't like that she always had something to say, then it was just too bad. She spoke from her heart and that was what mattered to her.

As for the remark about flaunting herself, she knew that was just plain untrue. She may have developed a little earlier than most girls, but she certainly didn't try to shove it in other's faces. Nothing but a petty remark from a petty girl.

Staring at the letter in her hands, Anzu could not help but feel that this was one of those occasions when she truly did not know what to say. She bit at her lower lip nervously as she skimmed the short letter for the fourth time.

_Anzu-_

_Thanks again for all the help moving last month! Sorry I haven't been in contact much since. Settling in has been a bitch. I'll give you a call when I get the chance._

_By the way, I heard from Yugi the other day. He said he was coming back to Japan in a few weeks. (I'm sure he's already talked to you, though.) I think everyone was going to try and fly out for a few days and have a little reunion. It'll be just like old times! (Hopefully without all the near death experiences... haha!) Hopefully you'll be able to get off work and can see everyone, too. I know how busy you've been over there._

_-Shizuka_

Everyone was coming. _Everyone _was coming? She re-read the line again, perhaps thinking the more she did, the meaning might somehow change. Her fingers began to shake and she suddenly had the urge to sit down before her legs gave way.

She carefully set down the note on her cluttered desk and slumped down into her office chair.

They were all... coming back?

Now? After all this time..? The idea felt foreign. She glanced at the calendar sitting opposite her desk. Four years... It will have been four year next month.

My God... Had it really been that long?

Looking back at the letter, she couldn't help the small twinge of anger as she thought of Shizuka's words. _I'm sure he's already talked to you, though. _

No, he hadn't, she thought indignantly. In fact, none of them had. She hadn't spoken to hardly anyone from the old days in years. Not that she hadn't tried, of course. She tried everyday, in fact. But when phone calls stopped being returned, e-mails stopped appearing and the mailbox remained empty, she realized everyone was just.. moving on.

Eventually, she just stopped trying.

After finally being recognized as one of the top duelists in the world, Jonouchi had been offered a job in America to help design games. Anzu had initially been surprised that he was taking on a career, instead of learning a trade which he always assumed himself doing.

"Hey, if I'm being offered a job to basically play games, I'm taking it." He had told her.

She knew how excited he actually was at the prospect and really _was_ happy for him. Anzu knew how badly he wanted people to acknowledge him as a capable adult and not the punk teenage he was associated with while growing up. She was truly proud of how he had grown. Anzu had grown increasingly close with Jou over the years. She cried when he announced the news. He hugged her and promised to call everyday.

Mai, dealing with the heartbreak of her own, had decided to move into the city. Though never very close with the blonde, Anzu would miss her familiar face around.

Honda eventually followed suit and decided to move not long after Jou left. Never much into dueling himself, he decided to go to a university in California. He joked his way through the sadness of telling everyone the news and told them that until Shizuka realized she loved him, he would have to go after another dream. He didn't have a specific area of interest in mind, but said he had always wanted to live there. Honda had grown on her since they first met, and couldn't deny the emptiness that came and replaced his leaving. She would miss his jokes the most everyday.

One by one they were going.

She remembered sitting alone with Yugi at the game shop one afternoon, weeks later, both halfheartedly playing a game of cards. Neither one of them was in the greatest of spirits without Jonouchi and Honda there to liven things up. Anzu could sense a great deal of sadness in her best friend as he fingered the chain of the puzzle around his neck. She knew that the spirit of the puzzle was growing increasingly distant from Yugi and the others the more he tried to regain memories about his forgotten past. Anzu sympathized and often offered to help him as much as she could, but she knew there was really nothing she could offer besides support.

"He wants to go to Egypt," Yugi had said softly, breaking her out of the daze she had found herself in.

"What?"

"He knows there isn't anything more we can do here in Japan..."

"Wait, what do you... What do you mean?" She asked heavily.

"He wants to go back... he wants to leave."

She felt like someone had slapped her in the face.

"But... I thought he was... I mean what can really be-There has to be something else we can do here. We just haven't been trying hard enough. We have everything here. The museums, history books... Isis and Malik-"

"-Are going back." Yugi finished quietly.

"What?" she breathed.

"They're going back to Egypt. Yami wants to go with them. That's where all his answers are, Anzu. That's where he can maybe try to start feeling some peace."

"I know... I just... I thought maybe he was finally feeling at peace here... Ya know, since everything that's happened. I thought he had learned enough to move on..."

Yugi just started at her, scrutinizing her face. She kept her eyes downcast for fear of letting Yugi see the tears that were beginning to form in here eyes. He must have know how she felt... He must have know that she was in love with the spirit. He had to know she loved Atem... After everything that had happened, she couldn't bare to see him go. For all she knew, him leaving Japan could mean his spirit finally leaving this world altogether.

Finally Yugi spoke, softer than before. His own voice threatened to crack.

"He wants to go home, Anzu."

Before she could stop herself, the tears came. When he reached out to take her hand, she quickly wiped away the wetness from her eyes. "It's ok.." she said, forcing a wide smile. "Really, it's fine. I get it. It was selfish of me to want him to stay... It's fine. We'll just try to help out however we can. We can keep in touch with Isis and she can fill us in..." Pain filled his eyes as he gently lowered his hand onto hers.

"I'm... I'm going with him."

Somehow, she knew he was going to say that.

Anzu was sure she had finished all her crying four years ago, when the then 19 year old girl slowly began to watch her best friends move on with their lives, and was surprised when she felt an all too familiar jolt in the pit of her stomach that threatened to turn into tears.

She finally tore her eyes away from the paper and inhaled deeply, broken out of the paralysis she found herself in after the initial reading of the letter. Slowly she opened the bottom drawer of her desk and began rummaging through various papers. Documents, old reports, trash she didn't bother throwing away. She didn't care much about any of that. (Though she was sure her boss would have a fit if he found out she had them stuffed in a drawer.) What she really cared about was laying at the very bottom, shut away and forgotten where she wouldn't be hurt anymore by looking at it.

With shaking hands, she picked up the picture frame.

Her heart seemed to skip a beat when she looked down at the faces of four young teenagers, all wearing graduation caps. She ran a finger over the glass and a faint smile crossed her lips.

Honda and Jonouchi stood in the background, arms around each other's necks, wearing what Anzu thought to be the goofiest of smiles. She herself stood in front of them, smiling widely, her own arms wrapped around the smaller frame of the boy next to her. Yugi was grinning sweetly. There was a slight protrusion on his chest, where she knew the Millennium puzzle was hanging under his robes.

Everyone looked so happy...

She remembered the day so well. As soon as the graduation ceremony was finished, and the hats had come back down to the ground, they all found one another. It was like an unspoken force that immediately pulled them together through the crowds of people. The hugs and laughs they shared in that moment was something she knew she would never forget. After all they had gone through together, it was almost as if, in that moment, they all felt feeling infinite. She had quickly pulled out a camera from her purse and looked around.

"Ryou!" she called when she spotted the white haired boy standing alone a few feet away. She waved the camera at him when she saw his brown eyes turn to her. "Would you mind?"

He waved back and made his way over to the rest of them and smiled softly as he reached out and took the camera from her, his fingers brushing against hers lightly. They all assumed their position and within a moment, he was handing the camera back to her.

"That'll be a really nice one." he had said with a smile. She was too caught in the moment to hear him as she took back the camera, laughing at something Jou had said instead. She didn't notice when he turned and walked away.

A strange feeling crept up as she thought about it.

_Ryou... _

She clutched the picture frame tighter as she thought about the white haired boy. How long had it been since she _had _thought about him? She bit her lip as a pang of guilt washed through her. The truth was, she had been so caught up in her own life, she hadn't given him much thought since highschool. In fact, she was sure she hadn't spoken to him once since.

Staring at the faces of her oldest friends, she remembered with guilt how she had basically thrust the camera at him to take their picture that day, not even bothering to invite _him_ in a picture at all. She silently cursed her own insensitivity. She was sure he must have felt excluded in a way. Sure, they were never super close to him. But then again, nobody ever really _tried_ to get to know him, either. And excluding people was not something that Anzu Mazaki did.

She set the photo on her desk and sat back in her chair, tearing her eyes away finally and letting them settle on the office window. Her view was nothing special, but it gave her something else to look at.

Truthfully, she had to admit that she felt bad for Ryou. She knew little about him, but what she did know wasn't a very happy story. She supposed having the spirit of a 3,000 year old thief possessing his body most had something to do with it. She couldn't hide the scowl that crossed her face as she thought about Bakura. _He_ was the reason Ryou suffered so much. He was the one who put all of them through hell and back in his journey to collect all of the Millennium items.

The more she thought about it, the more she couldn't help but feel as though it had all been some sort of dream. The Millennium items, all she had been through... With everyone gone, it felt as though none of it had happened. To Anzu, it felt like everyone had forgotten what they had gone through together. Duelist Kingdom, Battle City... Everything. When everyone moved on to pursue their lives, it was like a book had closed and wasn't going to be opened again.

"You ok, Anzu?" said a voice, breaking her out of her thoughts. She looked up at the figure standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hey... Sorry, just got lost in thought for a second." She smiled at the man. "What's up?"

"Just checking in. You doing ok with the bigger workload?"

"I think so." She said, pretending to rearrange some papers on her desk.

"Good. You've been kind of quiet since you got transferred... If you need help with anything, you just let me know, ok?"

"Thanks, Hiro." Anzu said genuinely.

"Well it's starting to get bad out there." he said, motioning to the window. "You may want to head out soon."

She glanced back at the window. At some point in the day the snow had started coming down much harder.

"My favorite." Anzu said grinning at him. He was a nice enough guy and had been very helpful as she had just recently settled into the new job, often finding himself walking past her office and poking his head in. She stood up and picked the picture frame and letter off the desk and began to tuck them away in her purse.

"Cute picture" he remarked, gesturing to where the frame was. "Friends of yours?"

"From highschool." She said, suddenly finding interest in the invisible object she searched for in her bag. She turned her back quickly and grabbed her jacket and scarf off the coat rack and pulled them on over her shoulders.

"Well anyways, stay warm Mazaki. Oh, and don't forget Mr. Kaiba wants me to get those clients taken care of by Tuesday, so don't forget I need the run down not later than Monday morning."

"Right."

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><p>When Anzu arrived home, she walked in and heaved a sigh, pressing her back against the closed door. Damn, it was freezing out there. She shivered and brushed the snow from her hair and jacket. It was early in the year for snow, and it was coming down much harder than usual. Not even throwing a second glance around the room, Anzu found herself marching up the steps to her bedroom. The only thing she found herself wanting in that moment was her bed. Big, warm and coaxing her into it's satin sheets. She dropped her purse and jacket at the door and kicked off her shoes before crawling straight under the covers. The clock on her nightstand read 6:05 p.m. Still early. Too early.<p>

She couldn't bring herself to care as she pulled the covers over her and stared at the ceiling. Her mind was somewhere else.

It was back in her office where she read the letter. It was back with Yugi at the game shop. Back at the airport as she watched Jou's plane take off and helping Honda pack his bags.

Back where she looked in Ryou's sad brown eyes last...

Her own eyes filled with tears as she watched her ceiling fan rotate slowly for the longest time. She wasn't sure why the thought of him upset her so much. It wasn't like any of it mattered anymore. She didn't even know what happened to him after graduation. There was nothing she could do for him anymore.

Right?

Eventually her eyes grew heavy and slowly began to flutter close.

It was best to just... forget it.

As least for tonight, anyways.

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><p><strong>AN:** So maybe not the most exciting of first chapters, but I hope you all stick with me. **Please** leave a review! I can't write if I have nobody who will read!


	2. This House is Not a Home

**A/N**: Sorry for the bit of a delay. I would like to send a HUGE thank you to everyone that has reviewed so far. It was such a pleasant surprise to see people responding so positively.

A very special thanks to **MissYennon**, who was kind enough to offer her services and beta this story for me. She has been very sweet and VERY helpful. If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out her work!

Hope you enjoy!

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><p><em><span>Let It Out<span>_

Chapter Two

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><p>The last time Anzu had gone to bed at six o'clock on a Friday night, she was seven years old and protesting eating her vegetables. When she had stared at the plate in front of her piled high with asparagus and potatoes, (and some smelly green things she didn't quite know the name of) she promptly hopped out of the chair and demanded to have something less, "icky" to eat.<p>

"You'll eat it because it's good for you, Anzu." Her father said knowingly.

"But it looks like cat poop!" She protested, leaning in and wrinkling her nose, "Smells like it too..!"

"It does not, now eat."

"Can I have something else?"

"No. Eat."

"How come you don't have as many as I do?"

"Because I ate mine."

"_Nu uh!_"

"If you don't eat what's on your plate, then you can go to your room for the night." Her mother interjected.

"But... But it looks like poop!"

It went on that way for some time before finally Anzu, stubborn as a mule, dramatically decided that she would much rather starve than eat the offending smelling food on her plate and stomped upstairs to her room.

"It's just not fair, Toto," She had huffed, falling back on her bed while hugging the small stuffed dog close to her chest. It reminded her of her favorite movie, _The Wizard of Oz_ and often as a child she found herself wishing she could be swept off into a dreamlike world like _Oz_ and have an adventure of her own, full of danger and magic. It wasn't out of the ordinary for her mother to catch Anzu in her closet, walking around in her mother's favorite pair of red high-heeled shoes, clicking them together.

Of course, things like magic just wasn't real. No matter how much she wished it, something like that would _never _happen.

She had stayed that way for some time before her eyelids had grown heavy and eventually slid shut. The stuffed dog remained clutched in her arms.

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><p>The clock read 11:11 when Anzu's eyes eventually fluttered open. She felt slightly dazed as she rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand and sat up slowly. The room was dark, save for the faint glow of the moon through her window. She groaned when her eyes fixed on the neon green light of the clock.<p>

"Great," She muttered, letting herself fall back on the pillow. She should have known not to let herself fall asleep so early. It was like clockwork. Each time she did, she would wake up in the middle of the night and find it impossible to fall back asleep, always leaving her exhausted the next day.

With a groan, she pushed the covers back and stood up stretching. She ran her fingers through her long dark hair and smoothed out her clothes. Noticing she was still wearing the long pleated skirt and blouse from work, she lazily made her way to the dresser and opted for her favorite pair of blue pajama pants and a lose fitting T-shirt.

She knew if anyone were to take a glimpse into her life at that moment they would sigh at just how boring she really was. Anzu didn't have too many close girlfriends, but the ones she knew never could understand how a twenty three year old, single girl got more joy out of watching cheesy soaps alone on a Friday night than going out with friends to the clubs and bars.

"Anzu, come ON," They would always say, "Stop being such a grandma and have some fun."

"I'm tired. I had to work all day," She would say with a shrug, "Maybe next week, okay?"

The truth was, she hadn't always been that way. In the time after graduation, she was always pushing for the gang to go out dancing with her. It was her life and her passion, after all and she wanted nothing more than to share that part of her life with the boys. _Her_ boys. She smiled faintly thinking about it. She remembered how awkward Yugi would look on the dance floor while she spun around him every which way, brushing up against him playfully and pulling at him to move. He would just stand there smiling sheepishly; he was lost and couldn't seem to find the rhythm. Honda and Jou stood back laughing, but Anzu knew they weren't much better. Jou would usually stick to bobbing his head up and down, and Honda looked like he was having a seizure when he danced.

The two would then eventually announce that they needed to find girls to dance with and would wander off into the crowd, usually leaving Yugi protesting feebly.

Anzu remembered one night in particular, after the other two wandered off, she turned back to Yugi and danced over to him. She grinned and bumped his hip with hers.

"Guess it's just us now." She laughed, spinning around him. "They just can't take our moves."

She grinned broadly, before noticing he wasn't smiling anymore. The sudden change in her best friend initially alarmed her. His eyes seemed darker; his demeanor changed from that of a embarrassed slouch, to a stiffer, more confident stance.

"I guess Yugi convinced you to take over, huh?" She said to the spirit.

He glanced at her and smiled softly, "I assume he thinks I would be more comfortable in a place like this," He stated, looking around uncertainly.

Anzu chuckled and stepped closer to him, "Yeah, he never was much into dancing."

"Though I don't know why he thinks I would be any better... I can't even remember the last time that I danced."

"Probably feels like a few thousand years or something, huh?" She winked at him.

He actually laughed at that, "Yes. Something like that." And then his eyes settled on hers, smiling. Her breath almost caught in her chest. She couldn't deny the blush that rose to her face as he watched her. He was so... perfect. Perfect and unashamedly good-looking. It should have been a crime.

She remembered moving closer to him and smiling coyly, "Well maybe we should fix that."

And she had grabbed his hands, pulling him out further on the dance floor. He was hesitant and awkward at first, stammering his uncertainties to her, but she paid no attention and continued pulling him. With much coaxing from her, he eventually allowed Anzu to place his hands on her hips and sway them slowly to the music, which had changed to a slower song... A sexier one.

"It's ok," She leaned into his ear. "Just relax... I'll help you." He looked at her without blinking for a moment, before finally the look of discomfort changed to a soft smile when she turned around to face him and draped her arms around his neck. She was being bold, she knew. But it _was _a slow song, after all. And he _was_ her friend. Her _good_ friend. And good friends could dance with each other to a slow song, right? The simple fact that she was madly in love with him didn't necessarily _have_ to mean anything right then.

Only it wasn't a simple fact. And it did mean something.

She could feel his hands grow slightly tighter on her waist and felt him pull her ever so slightly closer as he began to get used to the feeling of dancing. She chanced a shy glance at him, hoping he was still smiling at her, but was pleasantly surprised when she saw his eyes had closed and she felt hid head slowly lower to hers. With the dim lights, the slow beat and the feel of his hands on her sent her body on fire as she let her own eyes shut, content.

It was honestly one of the happiest moments of her life.

Being so close to him and feeling those strong hands rest steadily on her hips was enough to send a pleasant chill down her spine and her stomach turn. And when the song ended, she didn't know if her mind was playing tricks on her or not, but she could have sworn his hands lingered a moment and his eyes stay closed.

Anzu shook her head and groaned out loud, pushing the memory out of her mind before it threatened to make her even more depressed. She had to ignore that ache in her chest. "Enough, Anzu. Get a grip. The past is the past." She whispered to nobody but herself. "Just... Let it go."

She was feeling low and knew her current mood was all due to the letter she got earlier that day. She honestly_ had _thought that maybe tonight would be the night she put on a cute outfit and went out for once. According to the talk of some of the other girls in the office, there was a new club that had opened in the summer that was supposedly the new hot spot, and she had actually let herself think, _oh_,_ why not_.

But no. That small ray of hope went right out the door once she saw that letter at the bottom of the stack of bills in her mailbox.

Of course... did she even have any cute outfits that still fit? The last time she had actually dressed up to go out was when she was set up on a blind date and she had to fake illness to get out of listening to him talk about his figurine obsession for another hour.

That was about a year ago.

She didn't really think she had gained any weight in the past few years. Of course, she wasn't as active as she used to be, either. Much to her dismay, she was forced to quit dance so she could focus on a full time job, and she wasn't able to work out as much as she would have liked. She grimaced and pinched her butt self-consciously.

Mental note. Get a gym membership.

Sighing heavily, Anzu decided she was hungry and trudged downstairs to the kitchen. She glanced through the cabinets and refrigerator casually, but turned up her nose at most of what was in there. Although she had a fairly decent sized house, her kitchen told everyone that a single girl was the only resident here. Guess it was time to go grocery shopping. Half a carton of milk and leftover Chinese food wouldn't last much longer. Grabbing an apple off the table, she halfheartedly took a bite and slowly walked to her couch and sat down. She made no move to turn on the television, and instead sat staring at the ground. The house felt so silent.

After working at Kaiba Corp for about a year, and with the help of her parents, she was able to get a small house of her own right outside the city. It was nice enough, and Anzu enjoyed having the space, but it was lonely sometimes with it just being her. She thought briefly about getting a dog, but knew work would just get in the way. The thought just depressed her further.

So here she was. Alone.

Frankly, it just wasn't fair. Anzu was a nice enough girl. She was always pleasant to anyone she met. Sure, she could have a bit of a temper at times, but it never prevented her from making friends in the past. So why couldn't she seem to find anyone?

Was it all really because of her best friends leaving? Was she so down all the time because of it? Mostly, she thought she had put it completely out of her mind. What was done was done. She even managed to let herself start dating again right after, thinking it would help. If someone else came into her life, it would ease the pain of her friends leaving.

She had met a guy at work, Satoshi. Nice enough guy with a charming smile and nice eyes. What Anzu immediately liked about him was his voice. It was a deep, powerful voice. He asked her out to dinner one night to a fairly expensive restaurant and she had agreed. She didn't know him too well and was surprised when he asked her out so suddenly, but she decided to give it a shot anyways. Besides, if it didn't work out, at least she would get a free meal out of it.

As the night went on, she found she actually did enjoy his company. He cracked jokes at the right times, complimented her a lot, and listened to her when she talked about her dreams to become a dancer. He smiled at her warmly and held her hand on the car ride home.

He was charming.

So much so in fact, he charmed the clothes right off of her.

When he first kissed her on her doorstep, Anzu was quite hesitant. How long had it been since someone kissed her? Did she even still remember_ how_ to be a good kisser? Oh god. What if she forgot? She honestly couldn't remember. But the feeling of someone being so close to her, holding her hips steadily in his hands was such a powerful feeling that she couldn't resist. It reminded her of a time when someone else did that...

When she began to kiss him back, she felt his smile and his tongue immediately dart in her mouth.

When they stumbled through the front door, he pushed her down on the floor and immediately began fumbling with the buttons of her blouse. She remembered gasping at the cold floor. _Already?_ _Here?_ Shouldn't there have been a couple more dates first?And he was _supposed _to pick her up and carry her up to her bedroom and lay her down gently on her bed. She wasn't so sure she was overcome with throes of passion to the point that she couldn't wait until they got upstairs. It wasn't exactly her idea of a romantic moment. The floor was hard and uncomfortable, and she really didn't know him very well. And even so, she didn't stop him.

As long as someone was there with her.

She let him remove her shirt and he helped her wriggle out of her skirt. He unclasped her bra and threw it across the room, immediately grabbing her breasts roughly. She winced, but let her eyes flutter shut. His mouth moved to her ear and he began whispering in her ear.

"Oh, baby, you like that, don't you?" He breathed in her ear. "You want me to fuck you? You want me to fuck you right now, don't you?"

His voice... it was so... familiar sounding. So deep, so powerful... It sent a jolt straight to the pit of her stomach. This could work... She let her hands move to his head and ran her fingers through his hair. She imagined long, spiky locks...

"Yes..." She whispered back.

He didn't remove any of his own clothes. He simply unzipped his pants and pulled himself out before thrusting into her, making her eyes snap open and grunt in displeasure.

It only took about a minute of his moving for her to realize how much of a disaster this was. With each thrust she came more and more to her senses. No matter how much she could try to pretend... It wasn't him... It would never be him.

But the fact of the matter was they were this far, and so she might as well _try_ to enjoy it.

Anzu may have been tipsy, but not enough for her to enjoy _this _pathetic display. He was pumping frantically and selfishly into her so fast that she had to actually stop him so she could at least _try_ to catch up. She wriggled underneath him to try and adjust herself, but the movement must have made things worse. He groaned and began moving faster again. And when he leaned down and whispered in her ear again, her eyes widened at the name the escaped his lips.

A name that was not hers.

"Anzu." She stated coldly, staring at him.

"What?" He panted, trying to kiss her neck. Her body remained still, but she craned her neck away from his lips.

"My name is Anzu."

"Oh... Shit."

He was close to finishing, and Anzu knew it. Yet somehow she couldn't bring herself to care as she pushed him off.

It was embarrassing to say the least. Scurrying around him to collect her clothes and attempt to blink back the tears that were beginning to streak down her cheeks. This was all wrong. How could she be such an idiot? Even with someone there with her-hell, literally_ inside_ of her, she was alone. He muttered his apologies feebly but she couldn't face him. Instead she silently opened the door for him and waited for him to leave.

Between him and the figurine guy, she hadn't gone on a date since.

Looking at the apple in her hand, she wondered if this was similar to what Ryou must have felt in high school. To the untrained eye, he lived a relatively normal life. Went to school every day, was kind to people... One would assume he had plenty of friends and a warm, loving family. But because of the Ring... Because of _Bakura,_ he was really always alone.

Like her.

And it wasn't until now that she realized what a terrible feeling it was.

A creaking sound of the floorboard broke Anzu out of her thoughts. She looked up quickly and glanced around the room, suddenly becoming aware of just how eerily quiet her house was at that moment. She stood up and walked to the stairs and looked up, listening.

"Huh." She said dismissively.

When she decided it was nothing, she turned to walk back to the couch but stopped, almost dead in her tracks.

The front door was cracked open.

Coldness ran through her veins, but somehow she knew it wasn't from the cold air blowing gently through the door. Her brows furrowed together as she walked slowly over and closed it. Had that been open the entire time? She was sure she had closed it when she came in. Was she _that _distracted that she didn't notice it not close? Slightly alarmed at her own stupidity, she firmly locked it.

"Dummy..." She muttered to herself.

And then she felt it.

She gasped when the coolness of a blade touched her neck. Her body went stiff and cold when a large, rough hand clasped over her mouth. The feel of hot breath and an icy voice on the back of her neck sent a shiver down her spine and her mind reeling. The apple dropped from her hand and rolled away.

"If you try to move I swear to Ra I will cut your throat out, understand?"

Her body was shaking, but she managed a quick nod. Was she being robbed? Her mind couldn't formulate any thoughts. Everything suddenly seemed blurry and she was sure her heart was about to pound right out of her chest. In that moment, all she knew was terror.

When the hand slowly removed itself from her mouth- perhaps testing if she was going to scream or not, she hesitantly opened her mouth.

"T-Take anything you want... Just... P-please just don't-"

"I want answers, mortal," The voice cut her off, "and you're going to give them to me."

Her body went rigid.

Did he just say... Mortal?

She felt large hands move to her shoulders and roughly spin her around, blade still pressed tightly to her. Her breath caught in her chest when her eyes darted to the face of her intruder. Even with shadowed features, there was no denying it.

"Bakura..." She breathed.

"If you value your life in the slightest, you better start talking now."

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><p><em>To be continued... <em>

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><p><strong>AN:** **Please** review! It's so important to me to get feedback on this story! Wouldn't you want someone to review _your_ story? ;)


	3. An Unwelcome Guest

**A/N: **I'm so sorry for the long, LONG delay. Furthermore, I'm sorry for the shortness of this chapter. It gave me a lot of grief, which is why I stopped working on it for so long... But I'm back and already have the next chapter in the works. My goal is to update at least once every two weeks. I'll probably go back and edit this chapter again, but I really wanted to get something up for you guys. I hope you'll stick with me! Please review!

Also, I went back and added a few things to the previous chapter, if you're interested in re-reading. It may help a bit.

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><p><em>Let It Out<em>

_Chapter Four_

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><p>Whenever Anzu thought of the phrase, "my life flashed before my eyes", she would imagine the mind becoming something of a film reel, starting at birth and running across the eyes like they would in the cartoons, showing all the highlights of what would have been a long, happy life. She never expected that when <em>her<em> final moments came, all that would come to mind was how she would never get to see the ending of her favorite Soap. Will Matt ever get out of his coma? Will Leslie find out Steven is cheating on her?

_Well fuck..._

"I. Want. Answers. Now." Bakura growled.

The cool blade pressed tighter against her neck and broke her out of her mental paralysis, bringing her crashing back to the moment. Dark eyes bore deep into her own and her breath hitched in her throat from the intensity of his stare and the gruffness of his voice. That raspy, poisonous voice that she remembered so well. It made her physically ill to hear it.

"Answers... ?" She breathed.

Yes, she could use some answers right about now as well.

"I don't... understand what you mean..." His eyes darkened considerably.

"You're lying to me." He snarled. "I don't like being lied to." The blade pressed harder and Anzu gasped, feeling a sharp pain in the side of her neck, followed by a warm sensation drip down her highly sensitized skin. She became frantic.

"Please Bakura, I don't know what you're talking about-!"

In an instant, she felt herself being roughly pushed against the wall, the knife still at her throat. Bakura's other hand came around and grasped the front of her shirt and lifted her up the wall. He was strong. Too strong. Her feet dangled helplessly inches from the ground, while her hands clawed feebly at his own.

"Enough!" He barked. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, and I want answers." His grip tightened. "Now talk or I swear to Ra I will cut out your throat and leave you to die right here. You should know by now that I don't make empty threats. Do. Not. Try. Me."  
>When she failed to answer, too scared to speak, he growled at her once more. "I am not a patient man, mortal. Now speak!" His fist dug hard into her chest, causing Anzu to cry out in pain.<p>

His knife wielding hand left her neck and snaked its way to the back of her head and pulled her hair roughly to the side as he spoke, forcing her neck to crane upwards uncomfortably. She whimpered helplessly.

Was this punishment for something? Hadn't she already done her time dealing with demented, ancient spirits? She didn't spend the good part of her teen years running halfway around the world fighting these psychopaths off for them to just come waltzing back into her life so suddenly.

Furthermore, what could she do? Stand there like an idiot and claim ignorance? It may be true, but trying to convince Bakura of anything was next to impossible. She her eyes shut and a few tears leaked down her cheeks. This was _really_ it?

_ He's going to kill me right now. I'm going to die in my own home... and it isn't fucking fair!_

"... P-please..." was all she could manage.

She felt, rather than see him stiffen. He lowered her back to the ground, but kept his hands locked on her. Slowly she cracked open an eye to find him glaring at her, scrutinizing her face for any traces of deception. Hesitantly she met his eyes, and was immediately captivated in the intensity of his stare. For the first time, Anzu got a good look at him. He was _exactly_ the same as she remembered. He still towered over her the same way, commanding attention in the way that he stood. His eyes were the same cold, lifeless orbs that had haunted her dreams on so many occasions. That white hair, hanging in white spikes around his face... Yes, he was exactly the same... But where had that scar come from?

Was he contemplating what she said? Did he believe her? She swallowed hard, and cleared her throat.

"I don't... I don't know why you're here, Bakura, but-"

"Exactly." He snapped suddenly. "Why am I here, mortal?"

"...What?" she managed to squeak out.

"Here you idiot. In this world." He spat, pulling her closer to his face.

Good question.

She could feel his hot breath on her cheek. If she didn't know any better, she could swear her heart was about to beat right out of her chest.

"I have no idea..." She whispered.

And it was true. Why was he here? Her head was spinning. If he was here, did that mean that Atem was here somewhere, too? Is that even possible? She felt her stomach do a somersault. Bakura was destroyed, wasn't he? Yes, she was sure of it. He was gone...

Had Yugi done something...?

Her mind raced back to that day years ago. His spirit was destroyed... Right?

Bakura was glaring at her expectantly, and when she failed to say anything, he pushed her roughly against the wall once more.

"Well I suppose if you don't know anything, I have no more use for you..." His face split into a wicked grin. She felt the blade against her neck once more, and the red lights of panic went off.

"Wait, Bakura! I can still help you!" The blade paused.

"I thought you didn't know anything." He leaned closer.

"I don't." She said quickly. "But Yugi... he might. He's coming back here. To Japan. He may know something. I haven't spoken to him in... in a long time" Maybe he's coming back because somethings happened."

"I fail to see how that requires _your_ assistance."

"He would listen to me. He won't be willing to help you, and you know that. Even if you threaten him... but maybe if_ I_ were the one to find out..."

"Now this is a surprise, mortal. Helping your enemy to save your own skin." Bakura purred in her ear. "I never knew you were so cunning. Are you really so desperate to cling to your pitiful life?"

"Do you... Do you want my help or not?" Anzu asked warily. Bakura regarded her for a moment, and Anzu tried not to falter under his gaze. Finally, he spoke.

"Fine. I'll let you live for now. But don't you dare think for one second that I won't kill you later if you try anything."

"I won't try anything, I swear. I don't know what I would do anyways..." She said. Slowly his grip loosened on her shirt.

"... Don't you dare make me wait long." He released his grip and took a step away from her, folding the knife and stuffing it into his black jacket. She wanted to scamper away, but his eyes remained fixed on her, blazing. Yes, he was _exactly_ the same. Just as frightening and psychotic as she remembered him. It was like facing off with a mad dog. Any sudden movement might set him off again. She remained rooted to the spot, clasping her neck.

"I'll be hearing from you soon." He said gruffly, before turning to the door. With as much courage as she could muster, Anzu took a step closer to him. As much as she wanted him as far away from her as possible, the thought of him out on the streets frightened her even more.

"Where are you going?" Anzu asked hesitantly. He turned to her, face splitting once more into a grin that sent shivers down her spine.

"I think it's time to pay a visit to my dear ex host. It's been far too long. I'm sure he's missed me..." His voice was like ice. The way he spoke made Anzu's stomach wrench.

"What do you want with Ryou? He's got nothing to do with you anymore."

"On the contrary, mortal. He has everything to do with me."

"What do you mean?" Anzu breathed.

"All in good time, mortal. All in good time."

And just like that, he was gone. The door slammed and Anzu felt herself slide down the wall.

What... just happened? What was going on? She began to shake. It felt as if someone had just slapped her into four years ago. This was a dream. It _had_ to be a dream. She was working a lot, she got the letter earlier in the day... It must have triggered her to have some sort of sick nightmare.

But her neck screamed in protest and the feel of his hands on her had been too real to deny. No, this was no dream. Bakura had been in her home and he was very, _very_ real.

She didn't know how long she sat on the floor, staring at the wall opposite her, shaking. The sound of the ticking clock in the living room was her only indication that it must have been a very long time.

Bakura was here... Why? What was going on? Was Atem somewhere around, too? The thought sent her heart racing in anticipation. In an instant she found herself on her feet, reaching for the front door, almost as if she were expecting him to be standing there, waiting for her. Breathing hard, she wrenched it open and dashed to her front porch.

The blast of cold air drew her back to her senses. What was she doing? She could see nothing but her own breath. He wasn't going to be there... He was gone. Whatever reason Bakura was here had nothing to do with him.

She wasn't lucky enough to have Atem come back into her life.

Just Bakura.

Slowly, Anzu turned and walked back inside, shutting the door behind her and locking it say she was terrified would be an understatement. Bakura was not someone to be messed with. If he wanted someone dead, he would have someone dead. She felt sorry for whoever crossed his path tonight-

"Ryou!" She gasped, eyes snapping open.

He was going to find Ryou...

She had to go see him!

But she didn't know where he was. She didn't know where he lived, she had no way of contacting him... No way to warn him of what was coming.

The thought made her eyes fill with tears. She was helpless to do anything for him... Just like before.

Why was it always him? Why could he never seem to catch a break? Four years of finally thinking you had reached peace, just for it to come crashing down around you. She hated herself for letting him suffer alone. While she was too busy trying to help Yugi and Atem, she had completely disregarded the very real pain that Ryou was enduring in silence. It wasn't until the very end that she realized just how bad of shape he had been in. She never paid attention to the haunting look in his eyes, or the pain in his forced smile.

She remembered the way he looked at her when she asked him to take their photograph. Longing... Hopefulness. But he wasn't even allowed that one moment. And Anzu felt herself drowning in the guilt.

She made her way back to the couch and slumped down. She looked down and saw her hands trembling.

Ryou Bakura...

She couldn't help him before. She would be damned if she couldn't help him again.

She had to make it right. She had to find him.

She just hoped Bakura wouldn't find him first.

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><p><em>To be continued...<em>


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